The complainant, a journalist, sought public access to documents concerning the transitional allowance of a former Member of the European Parliament. The Parliament refused access, invoking an exception under the EU's rules on public access to documents, and arguing that disclosing the documents could undermine the protection of the personal data of the individual in question. The Parliament then failed to reply within the prescribed timeframe to the complainant's request that it review its decision (a so-called 'confirmatory application').

In the context of the Ombudsman's inquiry, the Parliament took a decision on the confirmatory application, so the Ombudsman closed the case.